Saturday, December 31, 2011

I arrived at the casino at 9AM ready for the big day. Today is the $1,000 tournament. I didn't know if I would be one of the dealers for this one. It would be a very long day and usually I don't do the 3PM tournaments.

I dealt the first one at 10AM and then got ready for the second one at Noon. I was getting pretty tired towards the end. I started dealing at table #1 and then it got down to the final table. I was tired and the players were grumbling a little bit. Finally a few of the players started going all in just for the sake of it to get done. I was finally pushed and got some time before the next tournament.

I also found out I was done for the day and I could play the next tournament if I wanted. I paid the buy in of $40 for the chance at the $1000 prize.

I didn't last very long in the tournament. In fact I believe I was number two or three to go out. I got 1010 and I raised. The flop came A10x. I then raised and got one person to follow. The turn came 3. No flush or straight draws. I went all in and the person called. The river came Ace and we turned over our cards. I had 101010AA vs AAA1010. This means I get to go home early.

I used to get really upset with myself for tournaments when I would go out but now I am more concerned when I play the live game. I like to do well in tournament play but I use it now for a distraction from the live play. Since I don't get to play very often it has been nice for the last couple of days to have the opportunity to play.

Well, tomorrow is another day dealing. We will have only one tournament in the morning and then the 3PM Player of the Week. Again not sure if I will be needed.

Friday, December 30, 2011

It is amazing how you write a blog in the morning and by evening time you have done something completely different.

I wrote this morning about having the time off and needing to do some stuff in my office at home. After I got home from eating breakfast I started the financial stuff and getting bills paid for my parents.

Around 11:30 I got a text from the poker manager letting me know about the $750 quaranteed tournament they were having today. I thought that I probably should try since it was $15 and would be a great opportunity. I got stuff together and drove to the casino.

I was there early enough that I could play the noon tournament as well for $5 and figured why not do that as well as a buildup for the 3PM. I haven't played in a while and would give me a chance to get some tournament time in as well.

I didn't stay in the tournament very long and that was fine. I then went over and got into the live cash game. They were playing $1-$6 Spread. I sat down in seat 6 with $40. I had an amazing ride for about 1 1/2 hours. I got a couple of sets that gave me $5 extra in the pots that I won. I love the Monte Carlo board. On Friday and Saturday you get $5 for any trips or sets that win.

The tournament was getting closer to starting and the poker manager wanted to use the table for the tournament since we had 69 players signed up. He asked that we start putting our chips in the trays and he would take care of the exchange. I started putting my chips in the trays and I filled up the first one for $100. I kept playing as I was doing that and needed to fill up another tray at $100 and at the end I had to use a third tray for another $100. I couldn't believe what I just accomplished. I closed out the session with $301 in chips and started with $40. This was a good day.

Of course I still had the tournament to play. We had 69 players and I ended up being taken out with my QJ vs 99. The flop, turn and the river did not help me. I went out in 18th place. Not bad for not playing tournaments for some time.

Now it is time for bed and will get up ready to go back to dealing the tournaments tomorrow.

Yesterday was my Friday for the week. I have today off and will catch up on the mail and working with my parents financials. So much to do and so little time.

Dealing the tournaments yesterday went well. I was a little frustrated with some of the stuff going on at the podium. Since we are a small casino, but number two in the Tri-Cities, everything happens in a 3x3 space at the computer. Multitasking is something that we all need and it can get crazy. Even having a person trying to help.

I did get to play my Thursday evening live cash game in the $2-$10 Spread. I started off well hitting flushes and straights and then cooled off. I was even money when we got three new people sitting down at our table. Things got worse from there.

The player in seat four, who was drinking, got insulted by one of the new people at the table. Words started going and I even wondered if this would go on outside. The floor and the dealer got involved and got the situation cooled down. It doesn't help when seat seven starts making donkey noises. What makes that person better than others? Seats nine and ten were together with seat seven and they all were trying to run the table.

My issue for the night was the fact that every time I was in the big blind seat nine would raise. I never had a good hand to raise back but that was my frustration. I have watched this group play before so I was glad I was on the left of them, but still it didn't help since I knew what they were trying to do.

My session ended when I got KK and decided I would make a stand against seat ten and I ended up loosing to a straight. Just couldn't make it happen.

After thinking about the situation last night I have decided that I need to make some rules for engagement and rules for my play and table dynamics. I need to make the session work for me and not just sit there since it is my night to play. I am thinking about what rules I want to put into effect for myself.

I know that decision making is very critical and I have a book for that. I stopped reading it when I started dealing but now that I am trying to play live I need to start my reading up again. The book will be "Decide to play great Poker" by Annie Duke. I am hearing a lot of good things about the book. Hopefully I can learn some good things from the book.

Well, it is time to get some work done before the new year hits us in a couple of days.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Yesterday was a usual day in dealing. Nothing out of the ordinary in dealing to the players.

I know that as a player you should always watch every hand to see what is happening and try to put together the story of each hand being played. I have been doing that even before I started dealing. I have always had a hard time seeing hands and trying to put people on hands.

Now that I have been dealing for awhile I am starting to see the hands that are being made before the cards are turned over. This is really helping my live game as I am looking at the cards on the table more and trying to figure out what I am up against before I just take my hand as the one that is always going to win.

Something else I have noticed is that when I put out the ten cards to figure out who gets the dealer button at the start of the tournament, I notice the cards that are put out. People need to realize that this is a normal deal and if those cards are all low cards then what would the hands be like.

Just a thought. I guess it just goes with the area of noticing the cards more and your cards less when playing. They are important but you need to be able to look at what someone else is playing.

We have had a pretty busy week so far in that Christmas was over the weekend and then my sister came into town. Now we have Cindy's sister coming into town tomorrow. We are having fun seeing everyone. It is hard for us to get out of town since I now work every weekend and only have a day off at a time. No complaints here though.

Tonight I am scheduled to play late and in the $2-$10 live game. Hopefully I will do well.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I had the most unusual request yesterday. I was sitting in the box dealing on table #1. We were down to two tables getting close to combining into the final table. The guy in the number 6 seat looks at me and tells me to slow down. I tell him that what I usually get is the opposite and that is to speed up.

I have been doing this for 2 1/2 months now and the request struck me as being funny. Once he found out the length of time I have been dealing he says to me that I am doing fine.

I have had a number of people tell me that they can see a difference from when I started. That means a lot to me since I quit two times in the first month. I am glad I hung on and am still learning the skill of dealing. I know I still have a ways to go but at least the skill is getting better.

I had another dealer at the table yesterday and she was playing the tournament. She was holding a conversation with one of the players about how she knows how he plays. Since she deals she has a read on what how some the players will play their cards. I mentioned to the table that you ought to see my book. One of the players took it seriously and asked if I really had a book on players. I told him no, I was just joking. It's all in my head. Not a bad idea though.

Last night was our adult dinner with our Dad. He enjoyed his dinner with two of his kids. I wish Mom could have been there.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

After having a couple of days off and being able to be with my family it has been nice.

We spent the time eating and then Cindy and I have been able to spend some time together. We are on such different schedules right now. I am working on my poker in the evening and she works long during the day. I am sure others are in the same boat.

I will spend some time talking about the past and the future soon. What did I do in 2011 and what are my goals for 2012. There are a number of personal things that will be taking place next year and will they affect my time at the tables? We will see what happens together.

One thing that did happen this last week was some depletion of my poker bankroll. Christmas and family and that was important. Now I must rebuild that account and get back to what I need to have to be able to play in the $2-$10 game.

I am reading a book called "Winning Low Limit Hold'em" by Lee Jones. There is so much information out there and I try to keep learning. The other great news is that Internet Poker looks to be making a comeback. That is something else to think about.

Well, off to work and see if we can get a live game going this morning.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Yesterday was my day off and I had an opportunity to sit down and play a tournament with $500 guaranteed. The only problem with this was we didn't have enough players. No tournament.

Since there was a live game going I sat down in the $2-$6 spread game. I ended up sitting for 3 hours and came away with $56 added to my bankroll. I have been putting this information into my iPhone application and so far it is moving in the right direction.

I hope at some point this week I can put together my year in review. Just little snippets of the 2011 year.

Today I showed up for work ready to deal the freeroll and we ended up with about 20 players. We went ahead and dealt it and then we didn't get the amount of players needed for the next tournament. The poker manager at that point called it a day and we were done.

I sat down at the Spanish 21 table today and decided to play for a little bit. I ended up $5 positive and decided to walk away with that. I don't play them and feel the house has too much advantage. Today was just something to do before going home.

Friday, December 23, 2011

I got to work this morning and was approached by the poker manager. He wanted to know if I would be willing to show up tonight to be an alternate dealer.

The day was usual as we dealt two tournaments and mixed in the live cash game. By 3PM I was walking out the door and was time to get some lunch.

I have been enjoying Sushi lately since it is light and does fill you up at least until dinner time. I headed over to my Dad's place to get ready for the Christmas dinner the facility was putting on for the families. We got down to the cafeteria and we were seated in the corner of the room by the Christmas tree.

This was a good spot for us. We were served first and we were able to get through the meal with no problems. We were served Prime Rib with Green Beans with bits of Bacon and a half of Potato. It was the right amount and seasoned just fine. I told my Dad, why do you complain so much about the food, it was good. He just chuckled. I guess I need to be there on the other days.

We walked back to his room and I noticed the time. It was now 5:30PM and I was to be back at the Casino before 6PM. I said my goodbyes and headed out the door.

I sat down at the live cash game to wait and see if I was needed. We did end up with 4 tables and with me we were at the appropriate amount of dealers with a floor person. I dealt the fourth table and as soon as it was broken up I helped clean up the area and get it ready for the live game. I was paid my tip money and the dealing fee for the freeroll and I was ready to get down to business of playing.

Once the $2-$10 Spread started I put the information into my iPhone analyzer to follow my progress. I ended up staying about 5 hours at the table. It was so good I couldn't leave since I was building my chip stack. I bought in for $100 and at one point I was about $350. I let some of that slip back to the table and since the dynamics changed on the table I decided it was time for me to go home.

It was about 1AM in the morning. I walked out of the casino with $160 above my starting buyin. I shut down the analyzer and I noticed I am now at a $17 per hour rate. I know this will fluctuate according to the tables and what happens. Something I can watch. I am anxious to build the bankroll up and to keep it climbing.

Right now my plan is to play at least one or two times per week. I will work on at least 4 hour sessions and that needs to be on a day that I have the next day off since I am staying late in the evening. Since I am off on Friday I will make Thursday evening one of them. Overall, I am happy with my play so far. I do have to remember that when I don't play a hand it is just like earning the money.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

I hadn't played cards in a few days, at least not a $2-$10 game where I
want to be playing now. Since we needed a fifth player at the table and I had some time I decided to sit in and just muck my cards. This is called a "Butt in the Seat". I would also get tips since I was still on the
clock.

In these $1-$6 spread games I will only put $20 on the table and usually
do not take the game very seriously. Everyone will put in that $1 just to see a flop. Don't even think about raising from the blind since everyone will follow for that extra dollar. What does it take to get people to
fold their less than premium hands?

I was in the blind with 10x and checked when it came around to me. When the flop came out it was x10x. Since I had top pair on the board I
decided to raise and get as many people out as I could. I raised it to $4. I got two callers. The Turn came with an Ace. I guess at that point I should have just folded but since I was first I decided to raise and put in $6. Both callers put in their $6 and we had a pot brewing. The River came and another Ace came. I put in my last $4 and was called.

I didn't win the hand but the two others split the pot. They were both holding Aces.

Is AK that good that you want to chase the AK after the flop when you
don't make the pair? What does the guy have if he is betting on a board with a 10 on the flop? I figured I was beat when the Ace showed up on the turn but still couldn't believe someone would follow through.

I do have to remember we are playing $1-$6 and everyone will just throw money in just to be playing. Anyway my rant for the day.

Tonight I will be going to a Christmas Party with my Dad at the Assisted Living place and then after that I am going to try playing the $2-$10 game. I have built my bankroll up enough that I want to start playing and with a certain amount. I will let you know what my criteria is in a blog soon. I have been working on my goals for playing poker and need to put them down in writing.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

I don't usually have any stories to tell about the people I meet at the casino. I don't have any funny stories or things that happen to me that sound interesting to put in the blog. That is until today.

Yesterday I was working the floor after getting done dealing a tournament and I was at the podium working on the spreadsheet for the final tally of players and winners before it was sent to the cage.

The dealer in the live cash game turns around and tells me we had Aces cracked and I needed to call the surveillance to get a picture of the table and give them the information. Of course I immediately called and told them we had Aces cracked and he asked for all of the pertinent information. I asked the table who won and they pointed to a gentleman in seat 7. I asked his name and he gave that to me. I had to ask him his last name and he gave that to me as well.

I then asked for his casino number and he told me that he did not have one. Now, in order to be paid I needed that number. I asked him to go to the cage, and it was free to have one, and please bring that back to me. He agreed and I then told surveillance I would call them back with the numbers.

After some time went by I couldn't find the person in the casino anymore. No idea where he was so I left the slip of paper on the podium and explained the situation to our poker manager. He called surveillance and told them if he came back we would pay this out to the gentleman. We still owed it to him.

Today I noticed the piece of paper was gone on the board. I asked the dealer that was at the table if he knew what the rest of the story was. He told me that the person did come back into the casino only long enough to give the chips that were left at the table to the dealer as a tip. He did not collect the money from the Aces being cracked.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Monday was my day off and I did a lot of things to catch up to where I needed to be. That was a big list. The only thing I didn't complete was to put the Christmas lights up around the outside of the house.

I did get my Dad over to visit Mom and then back to the house to start cooking for the Christmas party for the dealers at Island Casino. I cooked up some Enchiladas and then waited around for my sweatheart to come home and then we took off for the party.

It was a fun time had by all. Gifts were exchanged and we played a game that was non poker related. My gift was the movie "Rounders" and the book "The Art of War". The person who picked the gift was the perfect person to recieve them. Hopefully she enjoys them. She has never watched "Rounders" and now she can.

Today being Tuesday is our big day. We have a regular Freeroll and then we have the $25 tournament. At 6PM is the $65 tournament. I am trying not to play tournaments anymore but that is one I wouldn't mind trying. A lot of the good players play in this one and it would be good to see where I rate when playing with them. Of course one tournament does not make the rating of how good you really are. It would be fun to watch the players though.

This evening after getting home we put up the lights around the outside of the house. They look nice. It was cold and I was glad to get back into the house.

Now I am headed to bed and then get back to dealing the game tomorrow. I am working on my bankroll and have a number I am trying to reach before the new year comes around. I haven't played in a number of days so am anxious to get back at the table as a player.

I am reading a new book. "How to Win the World Series of Poker (or not)". So far it is a fun book to read and it is giving me things to think about while playing. Maybe I can learn from this guy in a different way.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

As usual I have spent the weekend dealing cards. No different than any other day of the week. We do tend to have less players showing up for the weekend. Today was Sunday and we are struggling to get 20 people to show up and play the morning freeroll.

The one thing that does get going is the live cash game. We will start a $1-6 spread game and people tend to enjoy that one. We are trying to get people to change to $2-6 but for some reason they just enjoy the slow pace of the smaller one.

I will tend to deal the game and not play. With this one people will call everything down to the river and show that they were chasing instead of playing real hands. Just makes for waiting for the right hand and then play aggressively and take a good size pot down.

Today I dealt my first Regressive Bad Beat. I have won one of these a few months ago and then was at the table for another one. Today was the first in dealing this bad boy. The prize payout is $500. The looser gets $300 and the winner will get $100. The last $100 is split with the players at the table that were not in the hand but started the hand. In this case there were four players to split the $100. I was able to share in the tips of course and with three dealers on at this point it was a nice share.

After my work today I headed down to the Mid Columbia Gymnastics where a birthday party was being held for two of our grandchildren. They had fun playing and then eating the cupcakes. Of course presents were fun as well.

I am off tomorrow and will go see my Mom and then I will be cooking for the Christmas Party potluck for the dealers. Not sure what will be taking place but should be fun. Can't stay out too late since I will be working on Tuesday. This is one of our better days during the week since the buy in is a little bit more challenging. Better players of course.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Here it is 1AM and I am still up. I just got back home from the Casino after a 4 hour session of poker.

I worked today dealing two tournaments and then helped the poker manager clean chips. They look real nice now that they have been washed. Makes you proud.

Once the shift was done I then headed out to the Alzheimers unit for the annual Christmas party. They had the usual Country band singing and they were doing the usual christmas songs along with the other country favorites. Mom was not doing well and at one point she stated that she was uncomfortable and they went ahead and gave her medication. It did help but she wanted to go to bed and the music was loud for her. It was hard for her and I was glad Dad was not there to watch her. I will pick him up tomorrow and take him over to see her. She will probably be very tired tomorrow.

After the party I decided to go over to the Casino and play a couple of hours of live. I have decided to play with my usual buy in of $100 to start and see where the variance of poker play would take me. I was going to leave at 10PM. We were playing a $1-$6 game and at 10PM the game turned to $2-$10. My chip stack started going down and I decided to stick around because the game was slow and nobody was playing deep poker.

I ended up with one hand that brought me back. I came up with JJ's and I called to see a flop at $2. The flop was all low cards so I raised it up and got 3 or 4 callers. The turn was low as well and it gave someone the draw for a flush. Again I bet and got followers again. On the river it was a low card again and the board did not pair up or give anyone a flush and no straight possibilities. I turned over my JJ's and everyone left mucked their hands. Wow, I just made over my buy in for the night. I ended up with $10 for 4 hours of play. I will take that as a positive. Especially with this group.

I played a few more hands to get past the button and decided I needed to get home and get some sleep. So here it is after 1AM and I am headed to bed.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Today was a good day for me dealing the cards. I was able to make the chip changes as needed. I don't know why but when I am pushed by the players it must make my mind stop thinking and start worrying over the process.

At the end of the 2nd tournament we ran there were four players and they decided to chop the prize money. They each got the $50 for their efforts and that isn't bad.

One of the players got up and after a few people left the table area he told me that he hadn't been to Islands Casino in some time. He didn't like playing here. Today he said that he enjoyed himself and he had fun and the dealers were fun and kind. He stated he was planning to start playing here again. It is nice to have a place you can play a tournament or a live game with people that you enjoy being around.

I had a conversation with another dealer from another Casino last night. We started texting since my phone number is on the list at the other casino to play live games whenever they are available. She was surprised to learn that I was now dealing poker since that casino wouldn't give me the opportunity to learn. She thought it was nice and hoped I would come back to visit them. Maybe the casinos are looking for players in this economy to help them keep going. We do and enjoy having new players join us for a game.

My brother took off and is now back home in New Mexico. Just in time too since today we have snow on the ground. Maybe it will warm up some now that the weather decided to give us the blanket of white stuff.

Well, off to work today and tonight I have a Christmas party to go to at my Moms Alzheimers Unit.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

This is the second post of the day but since I have to leave early in the morning I need to get this post in and then I can try and post tomorrow evening.

I was dealing today and got myself into some trouble with dividing up the chips with 3 or 4 players all in and with different amounts. I am trying to work on this and it is frustrating for me to keep having this problem.

I was on the floor and walked up to the poker manager and asked him if he would spend some time with me and go over this concept and how I can get better at this. I know it frustrates the players because of the time but it really frustrates me because I know I need to get better. I know I am probably making this harder than it should be. I need to just relax and get it done instead of stressing over it and making it hard.

I worked two tournaments today and spent some time dealing the live game. I understand this sounds like a broken record but this right now is what I do. I am trying to build my bankroll by playing and dealing. I keep putting the tips away and will be able to play a bigger chip stack soon. Playing for the usual $20 will not make it for me. I want to start with $100 and then I can get through the variance of the ups and downs of
poker.

I spent some time today talking with a young person who is working on his live game skills as well. We talked about the difference of tournament and live and the skills needed between the two. Hopefully he can improve but then again he will understand how I play the game. Will have to adjust some when he is in the game. I enjoy talking about the game and the people we are playing against. I don't get a chance too often to do that.

Tomorrow my brother will be going home. It has been nice to have him here for a visit and a chance for him to visit our Mom and Dad. I know she doesn't know who he is but still you can't just leave her out of the visits. She is getting so thin right now. Cancer is really a tough process for anybody and watching this is hard. We just want Dad to be sure and take care of himself during this process as well.

After the Seahawk-Rams game I decided to go play some poker. I should have gone earlier since the game was so bad. I know the Seahawks won and that is nice but Rams lost and that doesn't make me happy either. Rough when you like both teams. My brother was happy.

I got to the Casino around 9PM and got right into the game of $2-$6 spread. Fortunately for me the seat that was open was seat 10 and a very loose aggressive player in seat 9. He was raising basically every hand and he had enough drinks on board that he was shipping his chips to whomever would call him.

It was frustrating when you wanted to see a flop but also good in the point that it made you wait for a good hand. I stayed for 1 1/2 hours and mostly waited and I ended up bluffing a two pair hand to get someone off of the trips. I had pocket 10's and two Aces showed up in the flop. I played them with raise and was called to the River when I raised again and the other player thought about it and threw away his Ace. I couldn't show the bluff. He was so frustrated with the LAG that I just told him he was beat. Let it go at that.

Today I am starting my three days on at the Casino dealing. Probably won't play much live. Hope for a good day.

Monday, December 12, 2011

On Sunday we only have to deal with the one basic tournament at Noon and then we have a Player of the Week Tournament at 3PM. There are 4 dealers for the first one and then we get a couple more dealers coming in at 3PM to help us out. If we don't have the players then we start sending dealers home.

Since I dealt the first game I then stayed around and another dealer and I started up the Live game and worked it till the next tournament started. It gives us experience in live game and does give us some more tokes before the new dealers come in. It all works out for us. We will alternate every 30 minutes so we don't get tired and gives us time to work the floor with people signing up for the next game.

Today is Monday and is my day off. Since I have my brother here from New Mexico I will not be playing poker tonight. It is important that I watch the Seattle Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams play tonight. Even though I am a fan of both teams I am a die hard Rams fan. My brother is a Seahawk fan and there you have the rivalry. There is a wager on the game tonight between the two of us.

I will be wearing my Rams clothes tonight and putting out my Rams rug in front of the TV. I hope it is a good game tonight.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

For the last couple of months I have been dealing at the casino. Even though I know the game and can play the hard part is sometimes dealing and listening to the banter about your skills.

One of my issues is making sure the pots are correct when there are all ins with different amounts. I know I struggle with this and I keep working on it to get better. I have gotten so I don't listen to the players complaints and just do my job.

Over a period of time I have gotten better but then you get a day like yesterday and only one time gets you all off balance and then you start to doubt yourself. For me it is more frustration because I know I could get this done.

Today is a new day and I am back at it again. I have Monday off and I may play some poker in the evening. At this time I am just building the bankroll up so I can attack the tables again.

Friday, December 09, 2011

Today I have a day off and I need it. I woke up the other day sneezing about 2AM and I was having a hard time stopping. It continued throughout the next day and my nose is stuffed up. I don't think it is a cold but it could be the sinuses having issues with the dry weather. The past few days have been very cold and dry around here.

I didn't play any poker yesterday. I did my usual dealing for the day and then went home. In that case I guess I don't have any poker related things to talk about.

Last night I did get to watch the Tuesday evening session of Live@theBike. I really think listening and watching the live game has helped me learn some things that I should be doing in my game. They were talking about some iPhone apps that would be good to put on either the iPhone or the iPad. I have put one of them on my phone and will use it for my play from now on. There is one that would be good to use that would track players at the table. I am thinking about getting that one as well since I do play with the same people quite a bit.

As I said earlier today is a rest day for me and I will be ready to go for tomorrow. My older brother will be in town to visit my Mom for the next few days and it will be nice to see him. All of my siblings will have come into town in the last month to see Mom and Dad. Hope the visit goes well and the weather warms up a bit.

Thursday, December 08, 2011

We are asked to be butts in the seats to support our fellow dealers. Even though I think that is a good idea I am not sure about the outcome.

I don't mind being a butt in the seat to help the fellow dealers get a game going. I will put my money in there and not expect much back as long as the others are doing the same thing. The problem with the whole thing is the mentality of the non dealers that are playing at the table.

In this type of game I will usually say something about my hand being made to the other person if we are one on one. They then have the option to fold or bet. If they have something better than that is alright. At least we are giving them the option to call or raise.

Last night playing in a $2-$10 game with overs to $2-$20 did not go very well for me. When you have a person that is betting every hand it ceases to be fun and the table does not play along. I basically invested my tip money to the game and I am not sure I will do this again.

When I play live poker I am there to increase my chipstack and play the game like it should be played. My options are to not play to be a butt in the seat and I have decided if certain people are in the game I will not sit down at the table.

I have to make better decisions on when to sit down and put my chips at risk. It is all about risk and reward when sitting at the table. I would like to have some sort of advantage from picking my seat and having certain players on my right or left.

Today is my last day to deal this week. Hopefully it will be a good day....

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

I don't talk too much about my bankroll since talking about money is not something that I want to put out on a blog. Maybe sometime later I won't mind showing what the whole bankroll is and how I am accumulating it through poker.

I do have a set number in my mind that would make me comfortable to be able to play at the levels I do play at. Every person is different and what you would need is different than what I would get in a game for.

I do look for ways to build the bankroll. My bankroll does not all come from the game itself. I would like for it too but that just isn't possible at this time. I am always happy to get on the positive side of the night and bring home cash.

I am feeling more comfortable playing in the higher levels since my style has gotten more patient and not always wanting to see the flop on every hand for a cheap amount. That in itself is the problem with lower limit games. Everyone wants to see the flop.

I am forcing myself to make better decisions before the flop and that way I can play the cards and try and figure out what the other person has. I am learning to read cards by doing the dealing. Seeing cards all day and seeing what people play is really helping me be able to again make better decisions and see what the story is that the other person is telling me.

I am learning that there is more to this game that I need to study. Back to the bankroll. I do feel you don't need a big bankroll to start playing the game you just need to figure out how to build to keep playing. By playing low limit games you can learn and build at the same time.

I have pretty much stopped playing tournament poker for now. For me the Live cash game is where I am learning and adding to my bankroll. I will continue to play, learn and be patient.

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

I was texted by the poker manager to see if I would be interested in playing Monday evening. Monday was my day off and I had decided that I would not go play poker and just have one day off. Well, I ended up going to the casino and putting in a 2 hour session.

I sat and waited about an hour for a seat in the $1-$6 game. I finally got my seat and waited for some good cards. Immediately I lost a couple of big pots and was down over half of my stack. I felt I needed to be patient and things would turn around.

I didn't have to wait very long. I got a set of 10's and then topped it off with a set of J's and I was back over my starting stack.

I then moved over to a $2-$20 game and continued to play well. I was very patient and again I was able to keep myself on the positive side with the chip stack. One good hand was K10 and the flop came 10K10. The other person betting with me ended up with K10 as well. At least we didn't loose with the hand.

Before I left for the night we ended my session changing over to a $2-$10 game and I stayed for another 15 minutes before heading home for the night and for the 2 hours I was able to cash out +$20. Not bad for the evening especially the stakes I was playing. This should be a tuneup for the bigger game I would like to play. Will have to do this again.

Monday, December 05, 2011

The other day I was thinking about a way to get players into the casino now that we are Marketing as well as Dealers. I did work in sales back in the early 80's but haven't done any of that since then. As I have mentioned before it is not something I want to do and being responsible for getting them into the casino is not for me. I will do whatever to help but that I can't do.

I did come up with an idea yesterday and put it down on paper to see if it would be possible. This is following another casino and what they are doing as a promotion. Not exactly the same but close. Why not put someone into the biggest game we have with $200 to $300 dollars and give them 3 hours to see if they can have fun and possibly earn some money. I have the information on paper and may turn it in to the poker manager.

Then, I got another idea. If I am going to put that idea to them why not do it myself. I will have a set amount of money and a set amount of time to play in the biggest game. Can I make it myself? I am putting my ideas on paper to see if I can achieve this.

The only thing I would like to see if I can get help with is having someone willing to coach me a little bit to make sure I am doing the right things. Having my mind properly set to play this big of a game would be important. I have read many books on poker and have my own style but when put into a live cash game and the stakes are bigger I want to make sure I am ready.

One of the books that I think will help me is the one written by Annie Duke called "Decide to Play Great Poker." There a many great ideas and thought processes that I can use. There are others I have on my shelf I will probably get back into. I don't want to clutter my mind with ideas or strategies but ways to play hands and be productive.

I will let everyone know when I am going to do this and the specifics when I get them all nailed down. Coaching is my first priority and will be talking with a few people I trust in this game. In the meantime I will be cutting out tournament play to put all of my efforts into the live cash game thinking.

Sunday, December 04, 2011

You've heard that saying, "whats good for the goose is good for the gander"? Well maybe not.

Yesterday I was talking with one of the dealers about playing live and how to approach the game. We are talking about a $1-$6 game so not a big amount of money. We will get a game going in the morning before the tournament to try and rake some money for the casino. We as dealers will also sit in just to be a feeder for other people to see a game going on and when it starts to fill up we then back out of the game.

Now, I am not interested in throwing a lot of money at the game since I am not sitting for a long period of time. I also know that the tips coming from this game will also be part of my tips at the end of my shift. If I don't put a lot of chips into the game I know I could break even for the amount of time I spend.

This morning I wanted try out a play that was talked about between me and the other dealer. Money in the pot and I raised on the turn after the flop had been out and we called. The other person folded thinking I had a good hand and I showed the bluff.

What I got next was something I didn't expect. I was told that if I wanted to play like that come on and I would be beat. The player wasn't even in the hand. He also stated earlier he does the same thing only to put tips into the bag. I can understand that but this hand also brought me back up to even for the day.

I know one thing is that when I play poker I play to increase my chip stack. I have no problem putting in tips for the dealers but then I am not there to just sit there and do nothing if I am in the game. I guess I could just fold, fold and continue to fold but then I am not guaranteed in getting my money back at the end of the day.

Another day dealing poker and we will see how this day goes. Last week we didn't get a tournament going at all and ended up playing live all day. Tips were good.

Saturday, December 03, 2011

Yesterday was a day off so I spent the time playing Live poker in the morning and then played a tournament at Noon. What a way to spend your time off. I enjoy learning the skills and seeing the cards and learning for me is what I want to do.

I have been thinking about my dreams of where I want to be in life and what I want to do. I felt it all got messed up in January of 2010 and now all of my hopes and dreams are gone. Trying to figure out how to do the things I want to do is hard.

My dream of purchasing a MotorHome and travelling is gone. Playing bigger games in poker is gone. Having an investment vehicle with the stock market is gone. Most all of the dreams are gone.

Sounds like a bad beat story. I still remain pretty positive but I know that the things I do and worry about really don't make a difference. I have a roof over my head. Great family members and friends and I figure that is really all I need.

Yesterday the decision was made to move my Mom to a different pain medication for her cancer. We will try this and if it doesn't work for the pain relief then we will have Hospice move to Morphine to stop the pain. We knew this time was coming and now we need to get through this as a family and make sure our Dad is maintaining his health.

Still not sure what is going to happen with the job at the casino. With the family issues going on the job really doesn't seem that important. My time will be taken up with both parents at this point. I can worry about that later.

Thursday, December 01, 2011

The poker manager let us know that he was going to have a dealers night live cash game. This was to get us together and have some fun and not have any pressure of a tournament or live game.

I showed up at around 6PM and they had an usual $1-$6 spread game going. I jumped into that game since I had another hour before the dealers game was to start. At first my chip stack was depleting and I was wondering if I would have enough to start the next game.

Then I started hitting hands. It was nice to bring in some pots and I built my chip stack up where I was very comfortable. We switched over to a $2-$4 Limit Kill and that wasn't bad either.

By the time 7PM came around there were 2 other dealers that came in and one of the dealers decided to play in the pits and the other one came over and sat down at the table. No one else showed up for the dealer night out.

I sat at this table for a good 4 hour session and when I left at 10PM I was up $50. We had also switched the game over to a $2-$10 spread. I am not a good $2-$10 player but tonight it payed off and I was able to head home with a good profit for myself. Any positive cash at the end of a session is good and I will take it as a win.

Hopefully by being a "butt in a seat" when the poker manager has these games will be enough to keep my job. I am willing to play and be there to deal the games anytime. I don't really care about the hours as much as I do care about building my skill level at dealing the game.

I don't get alot of time to play long sessions at the table and it was nice to sit and just play the game and be patient on the winning hands.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I arrived to work and before we started the live game the dealers were sitting around the table talking. The poker manager was talking about the new $2-$4 Limit game and how we were to approach taking the rake.

During this time he informed us that he had just completed the employee evaluations for all of the dealers. We have a new General Manager and he had a say in the evaluations as well. No one got a good evaluation and the reason for that is we are not bringing in new players.

We as poker dealers are supposed to bring in new players. When we do bring them in we are to notify the management that we brought in the players. This will help keep our jobs. The General Manager wants to replace all of the dealers. Wow, I am just stunned.

I have been there since October and I am getting more comfortable dealing in the tournaments. Now all of a sudden I am a salesman in trying to keep my job. I guess I will need to think about this and decide what I am going to do. My circle of friends do not play poker and getting them involved is not want I want to do if they don't want to play the game.

What happened to enjoying the game? Maybe going back to just being a player is what I need to do. We will have to wait and see. Two posts in one day is new for me.

Yesterday was my day off and guess where I spent my time? Yes, at the casino.

The dealers try to support each other on our time off to help keep the game going and bringing in the players. As soon as we have a full table then the dealers start to back out of the game and let the players go from there. I was not on the clock yesterday so I stayed in the game.

During the early morning session I was holding my own and came out of the session down a little bit. When the next session started, after the tournament, my chipstack started declining again. I was just missing the best hand by one card. A8 vs A9 type of stuff for two pairs.

On the last few hands played before the next tournament started I got AA. Now if I got them cracked I would get $25 with the Monte Carlo. If I played them aggressive I could possibly get myself back to even for the whole day.

I had two callers and they were playing their hands aggressive so I joined in to see if I could win this big pot. As it turned out my Aces held up and ended up back in the black for the day. Good positive day.

Starting today we will no longer play the $1-$6 spread game and will be changing it to $2-$4 Limit. Hopefully we have the players supporting this. Our new GM wants us to rake another dollar and this is his way of doing that. Hope it works.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

We had our Thanksgiving yesterday with the family. It was nice to have everyone together. The only one missing was Mom. It would have been nice to have her here but she is safer in the Alzheimer Care home.

Today was back to work in the Casino. I dealt two final tables today. It just seemed like it would never end. Especially with the Rebuys. There weren't very many of them so it wasn't really that bad.

I was nearing the end of the final table today with three players remaining. The poker manager had come over to the table and was preparing to pay the next person taken out.

I burned the card and brought out the flop and then one of the guys said All-In. I looked at him and of course it wasn't his turn. I turned to look at the other guy in seat 10 and was waiting for his action. He looked over at the guy in seat 2 and had that look on his face like what are you doing? The poker manager started laughing and looked right at me and said that one of the other dealers that has been there a long time does this at least two times a night.

I couldn't figure out why the crowd around the table was laughing. Then it hit me. I had brought the flop and never dealt the cards to the players. The player in seat two noticed first and that is when he said All-In. It was a nice break for everyone to get a good laugh before I could redeal the cards.

When everything was all done and the next tournament was set up I was able to go home. Before I left I sat down in the eating area. The Poker Manager walked by and noticed that I was sitting there and told me I had done a good job today. He also said he was happy that I had made the decision to stay at the casino. My first 3 weeks were not very good but I feel I am getting the hang of it and the players are getting used to me. That was a good pat on the back.

I did play a little in the $1-$6 game today and donated my $20. I need to get more serious with my play. We are expected to be butts in the seat and I guess my mentality is to donk off the money to the customers. I can't play like that. I need to stay away from playing when I am working and go play on the nights that I have some time to really play the game. I have to work on that one.

Today was the Memorial for a good friend. I wasn't able to attend but my thoughts are with the family. RIP Betty "Boop".

Friday, November 25, 2011

Yesterday was the actual turkey day for a lot of americans but for my family we are having the celebration of food today. Since I worked thursday in the casino we are waiting.

We did have our usual tournaments during the day and we had about half the normal people show up. I use the word normal very loosely here. We play the freerolls to get customers in the door. I have gotten change from them to pay the one dollar and play for an opportunity to get part of the $200 prize pool. Some of them can't pay the $4 for the dealer add-on so will pay the $1 to play in one of the tournaments. We get 40 to 50 people playing per day. Not bad.

On this day we had a couple come in and they payed the one dollar to play. What a lot of them will do is ask for the Double ticket and take it to the blackjack table and then try to get the next buy in and then bring over the money for the next tournament.

On this day the guy decided to take his $15 over and try to double his money at the blackjack table. You know the rest of the story. He lost all of it and was very upset. He stormed out of the casino and slammed the door and it broke something on the door when he did that.

I get a telephone call at the podium and then find out he has now been 86'd from the casino. Maybe that will be for the best if they can't afford the money to play. They have to realize the consequences of their actions and what they are doing.

The cable guys have shown up this morning to rehook up our cable. I hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

After working today I went over and picked him up and brought him home with me. We fixed Enchilada's and Chile Relleno's. He really enjoyed them and it is something we have made in our family for many years. My Mom would make this meal and I learned from her how to prepare them.

He enjoyed the time here and talking with one of our sons. The quiet time listening to christmas music and relaxing was good.

It has been a busy couple of days in the casino. People are coming home from college or having the time to play right now. The rest of the week is expected to be crazy. We will have our Thanksgiving on Friday when I have the day off.

Monday, November 21, 2011

It gets old just saying that I am working at dealing the game. I have been doing the same stuff and then today I got the day off.

I have been wanting to learn the Omaha Hi-Lo game and have been putting some time in the books. The Casino is trying to get a game started for the last 2 weeks and at some point I will sit down and play some when it gets started. No one has showed up for the game yet.

This evening I figured I would take some time and sit at the table and play whatever was going on. It was the usual $1-$6 Limit game. We had a new person at the table and she was doing well. One of the last hands I played and the hand that basically took me down to the end was a hand that I just couldn't believe happened.

I was holding KJ and on the board showed up 10-3-Q. All I needed was the Ace to show up for the straight and stay away from someone hitting a flush. The turn was the Ace. I hit my straight. I raised to $12 and got three people following. What were they playing or where they on a draw for the flush. I said give me a red card to stay away from the club and spade flush and sure enough the red card came on the river and was a 3. I felt good about my straight and someone said that three may not be what I wanted to show up.

Turning over the hands were my straight and then the new person turned over the pocket 10's for the Full house. Tens over threes. That hurt.

It happens and I basically gave back the money I won the following day so it was alright. At least a new person took the pot and maybe some day she will play again. Always like to see new people get involved in the game.

Right now I am having a real hard time sleeping at night. With everything that is going on with the job and learning the new routine of dealing and then making sure my Dad gets over to see my Mom. I haven't said too much about her on my blog. She has Cancer and Alzheimer's as well. The cancer is progressing now and she is in some pain and being taken care of by Hospice. Watching my Dad deal with what is happening is hard. I had to separate them into different facilities because Mom needed the Alzheimers care and Dad was unable to take care of her like he wanted. I keep telling him we will get through this together and I am sure we will. I use poker right now as a way to get my mind off of what is happening. I guess I didn't realize how hard this was going to be on me.

Have a fun week. I will be working in the Casino the next three days and will have Thanksgiving on Friday when I am off.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

On Monday morning I got up and got myself ready to work. I arrived at the casino about 9 AM and I started to deal the live $1-$6 Limit game.

Just before the 10 AM tournament started I was at the podium and the poker manager came up to me and asked me why I was there. Monday was my day off. I guess one day looks like another. Well, at that point I went home.

I did go back in the evening and played a 2 1/2 hour session of $1-$6 Limit. The game was good in that we had a person that was drinking quite a bit and he was winning but we all knew that if we were patient he would return the chips. He didn't let us down. Near the end of the session he was spewing off chips and most of us were getting our chips back. Too bad the game had to stop due to the tournament starting.

Working Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Putting a lot of time dealing the live as well as the tournaments. Trying to get myself better by staying longer in the tournaments at the #1 or #2 tables.

I have noticed my hands are hurting more. I have arthritis in my fingers and it is really bothering them. I don't know how long I will be able to keep this up.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

I haven't been blogging as you notice. I have been one busy person now working days. I had been working 3 days and 2 evenings until I finally quit for the second time working a Saturday evening/night.

I was put into a situation where I was out of my league as far as dealing the poker game. Playing the game is one thing but by putting me into the game on a Saturday night was way beyond my level of comfort. I ended up letting the poker manager know that I had enough.

I was not making the customers happy and I was slow enough that it frustrated them as well as myself. I felt the only thing I could do was go ahead and leave and then get back to my time playing the game and building my bankroll that way. He wouldn't have it and so he changed my schedule so I would work 5 days during the week.

I am now dealing the early live game and then two tournaments as well as dealing a sit-n-go inbetween. Getting these hands in is helping me to deal with less pressure and stress. I hope to keep gaining the experience and learning this new skill. I am a very visual person so watching the dealers helps my game as well.

I do need to gain some thicker skin. Listening to some of these people complain is something else. Get this. They are playing a freeroll and paying anywhere from $1 to $4 to play. This is with add ons so they pretty much get to play for a chance at $200. I get the chance of learning and we all should be happy. Not this group.

In the meantime since I am not playing very much I am building my bankroll for another chance at playing some live cash games. I do enjoy the chance and am learning to be patient.

On the personal side my Mom is not doing very well and that takes up my time with Dad as well. We will get through this together.

Friday, November 04, 2011

What a week it has been. I was asked to come in on Monday this week was my day off. That meant I had worked from Saturday through Thursday.

It is not so much the time at work as it is not being home to take care of other things. It is nice to have a job to go to though.

As I said earlier I haven't been playing very much poker since I started dealing. It has been time consuming for me since I am trying to do a good job at breaking up the chips and trying to get it out as fast as I can. Sometimes I feel like I am moving too fast and need to make sure I am doing a good job first.

Thursday morning I was able to get into a tournament and I got to the final table but was taken out when my two pair AQ got beat by J10 and a straight. This morning I went back and played in another tournament and got to the final table and this time cashed. It felt good to get to the end of a tournament again. I played live $1-$6 Limit and came out positive cash as well.

The Casino started a new game this evening and it is $2-$100 with a maximum of $50 buy in to the game. You have to be down to $25 before you buy in again and can only be $50. I put up the $50 and played for an hour and 50 minutes and was positive cash before I got AK and a K came on the flop. One caller and on the turn I went all in and she called with KK. That was not good. I would like to play this game again but will need a better bankroll for this one. I was being patient and then I must have had a brain fart to not recognize something was wrong. Put this in your memory bank and refer to often.

Tonight I played one last tournament and went out early. I am tired and since I have to go back in the morning to deal two tournaments I will head off to bed.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

I showed up for my shift on Thursday evening and there weren't enough players to have six dealers on the floor. Since I am the new dealer I do expect to be sent home if I am not needed. I am alright with this.

What I don't expect to have happen is a dealer being rude or commenting about it in a joking manner. I am fine with playing and not working the tables but don't be rude.

I showed up to work this morning and we didn't have enough players for five dealers so I offered to go home instead of staying there. The manager offered to pay us even if we didn't have all the players but I just can't see that being good. Oh well, I am fine with coming home and I will deal with the other dealer later. Everyone has been fine with me coming on as a new dealer but for some reason I think he feels like I am taking hours from him.

I will work tomorrow evening and was asked to stay a little bit later so we will see what happens. Before I left the manager asked me to come in on Monday and be him. Does that mean I open? This will be interesting.

I have a table set up in our back bedroom and I have been practicing the all-in math. That seems to be the area I need the most work. I will keep plugging away and doing my best.

Went to the Dentist yesterday. Meds are so nice that I don't have to remember I was even there. I took my medication on Thursday evening and woke up at 3AM so decided to take another. At 6:30 it was time to get ready to go so I took another one. Next time I won't take three of them for the visit. Way too much.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

After a day of dealing cards I was asked to be the backup for the evening session. I said yes and showed up for work.

Today was a little bit different in that it was one of the dealers 40th birthday and everyone was celebrating. I know it was a birthday but to sit and watch poker being played with alcohol being consumed was hard to watch.

I am sure the hangover today was massive and will probably need some time to recuperate.

The morning session of live poker went well for me. I ended up at $29 profit. When I came back for the night session I ended up giving $25 of it back. Just couldn't catch the cards in the evening session. I then signed up for the tournament which was a rebuy tournament as well.

I started out just about playing anything because the birthday boy was at my table. I ended up going all in with 77 and they got beat. Rebuy time and I was moved to a different table. This is when I decided to get to work playing poker like I know how. I started out doubling up and continued to increase my chip stack. In the end I made it to the final table and we all decided to chop the pot at 5 players. It was a nice little profit of $82 for about 3 hours of playing time.

Friday I am off and will be at the dentist early in the morning. Not looking forward to it but this is something I need to keep up with. It is nice that he has decided to give me some meds to make me feel better during the procedure.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

I had Monday off and I was able to do some errands. I am getting into more of a routine now since it has been just about three weeks since I started working at the casino. I am basically working the Freerolls during the mornings and into the afternoon. I do have two evenings out of the five days and they are the freerolls as well.

Tomorrow will be my first paycheck from the casino. As I said before it has almost been two years since I received a paycheck from working for someone. Isn't it strange how we get accustomed to selling our time for money and when we don't have that coming in you have to come up with other ways to keep going.

I am getting more comfortable with dealing. I still miss the time playing the game and I am sure at some point I will be able to go back to what I was doing. I really enjoy the live cash game more than the tournaments and will put my efforts at playing more of that as the time goes on. I am able to play live while at work when they need someone to fill a seat to keep the game going. So for now that is where I am getting my poker time.

I was able to play in a tournament today. I enjoy playing in this $25 tournament since you have the players that understand what is going on. I didn't get as far or deep as I would like. I tried to play my premium hands and kept getting taken off of them by someone re-raising my hands. Sometimes I wonder if they are doing it to see if I will fold. I did play with QQ and the board came with 5 spades and we ended up chopping the pot and then I got KJ only to run into KQ and the board end up showing both a KQJ. Just not my day.

This week I will be going to the dentist. I am not looking forward for that but I do have medication that I can take that will help me get through the chair time. Hopefully they won't find anything wrong with my teeth. Get the cleaning done and then see them again next year.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

It has been a few days since I have updated. I have been real busy working at the Casino. Even my worst days I am able to do something that I enjoy.

Yes, I have been very happy but also feel the stress of being a dealer and listening to people complain about my dealing. Ok, I need to get some thicker skin. I have solved my issue with the speed of dealing. I had some good people talk with me and explain that shuffling without looking would be good and keeps the game going. I guess it is multi tasking that is important.

My next issue is the all-ins. I don't have any issues with 2 players but when I get 3 or 4 going all in with different amounts then that is an issue. I am working on this and will keep at it. Right now I am dealing the freerolls and that is where I am learning. Patience for me as well as the players.

Saturday night was very frustrating for me and I shouldn't have been dealing this game. I got myself dealing the final table and things just got worse. I had a drunk person and another person that kept saying hurry up and deal. Hard to hurry up when you had to explain to the drunk girl how to play and what to do. This was her first time I understand. Didn't help me any. I was replaced at the table finally and was able to go home. I was very, very frustrated and stressed by the time I was done.

Tonight was the best night I have had yet. People were fun and very patient with me and they even told me to just relax and deal. I am also getting known to not help the winning hand at the beginning. They are saying that I "deal them dirty". If your all in with the winning hand don't expect me to help you out. Tonight I broke AA and others with better hands by the river. Maybe this is my revenge for those that aren't nice at the table.

I haven't played much tournament and I have sat in on some live play. Easier to do the live play since it helps to fill up a table and keep a game going. I did well on Saturday just being patient and waiting for hands and not chasing anything. Tonight not so much.

This week is my first paycheck in almost two years. You talk about excitement. It won't be much but still it is a paycheck. I am working on my bankroll so that I will be able to continue playing at some point. It is slow growing but I have to be patient and keep working on my goals.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Poker Manager asked me to show up to work at 0815 this morning. Always willing to please I showed up on time and we had a chance to sit and talk about dealing and what he wanted me to do.

He definitely does not want me to quit. He feels with some added work I can make it as a dealer. The things I need to work on is being able to shuffle the cards and work with the cards without looking at them. Pitching the cards is not a problem. The other thing we went over was the all-ins and making the side pots. He got some chips and he set up some scenarios and I was able to make the pots with no problems. My problem is having to do them under the stress of the game.

We did discuss one other thing. I was very hesitant about dealing the $2-$10 game it made me very nervous. Well, he said he was going to have me deal the $2-$100 game. I guess that is one way of breaking me in to the live game. I have been dealing the $1-$6 but now probably Thursday night will get my chance at bigger limit game. He changed my schedule.

I am going to put my nose to the grindstone and get this done. Working hours again is strange and it will take a bit to get accustomed to working a shift. Working days and evenings. I know I can do this.

It amazes me how people get so uptight playing a FreeRoll. They don't pay anything to play and the casino puts in the money for the prize pool. They should be happy they have a place to play and learn how to play the game. They have to gripe about something. It is a good place for someone like myself to learn to deal and be in an actual game under game situations. If I wasn't dealing I would be in these games playing.

Monday, October 17, 2011

After not sleeping Saturday night and giving it a lot of thought I decided that I would terminate my employment with the casino and go back to just being a player.

This morning I got up and went over to the casino to make sure I was able to talk to the poker manager first thing. The long and short of the conversation was that he did not take my shirt and name tag and would not accept the termination.

He wants me to go a little bit longer before I make this decision to stop dealing poker. My problem is with the players chirping and not being happy with the slowness that I have at this time. I know that it will take some time to get better and the speed will improve. Right now there are so many things to remember and not just at the table but on the floor as well. Still not sure what I will do.

I did get a call this afternoon and the manager wants me to show up in the morning about 1 1/2 hours early. He didn't say why so I am left wondering through the night at what he is wanting to do. Maybe we will spend some time at the table going over ways I can improve?

Since today was my day off I ran some errands and spent time with my Dad and took him over to see Mom. She was in pain today and they had given her some pain pills and they took affect while we were there. She just shut her eyes and wanted to sleep. I could use some of that myself.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

I went to work at the casino on Saturday morning. Sometime during the two tournaments I was asked if I would come back and work the second shift. Knowing that I need to get all of the dealing time in that I can to learn this and get better at it I said yes. What was I thinking?

I went home at 2:30PM and then tried to rest up for the next shift that started at 6:30PM. Figured it would be the usual 50+ players going at it for the $500 prize. Didn't think about the Live Cash game going on at the $2-$10 Limit Spread. Fortunately I didn't get involved with the game since the tournament was getting ready to start.

I started out on table 5 and then during the play I get 3 to 4 people going all in and then players getting upset because I am not fast enough. This tournament is a $5 tournament to play. Very impatient people.

I ended up moving to Table 1 which will end up as the final table. I did end up the night at this table and after it was done I was headed home. It was 11PM at this point and I am scheduled to return at 9:15 in the morning.

On my way home I get pulled over by our trusted police department and was informed my right headlight was out. Thank goodness he just told me to get it fixed and didn't give me a ticket.

I didn't get any sleep during the night and was up at 7:45 and was ready to leave the house at 9AM. When I drove into the parking lot there were no cars I recognized. I looked at the schedule and the first tournament was to start at 11:30AM. My goodness I am two hours early. Time to visit my Dad and then back to the casino at 10:30AM.

It was 11:15AM and we had 6 dealers with 34 signed up. Since I was the first to go home today and at this point they only needed 4 dealers I was out the door in a flash and headed home. This means today and tomorrow are off days and relax time.

Overall my experience in the box, I will say, is frustrating and very hard to get the hang of doing everything so quick and making sure it is correct and everyone is happy. I am not so sure this is going to last. I have given myself the week and will have to make a decision soon whether to keep up with this. I really do prefer to play than to deal the game. That is very plain to me at this time.

Friday, October 14, 2011

After working three days in the casino I have Friday off. I will be working over the weekend and my next day off will be Monday.

What did I do on my off day?

I took both of vehicles down and had the oil changed. They were both due and I wanted to get both done today. That took most of my morning. I also changed out the headlamp in our car as well. I figured that would take me awhile since I am not a mechanic and working on some of these cars is a nightmare. It turned out easier than I thought and had this done in less than an hour. What a mechanic, pat myself on the back.

The afternoon was left to go pick up my Dad and take him to see my Mom. We hadn't been there in over a week. We were sick last week and then I ended up working the three days in a row so we had to wait till I had the day off. It worked out alright and we got to spend some time with her.

After I got home I put out my poker table and spent some time going over the all-in situations and how I need to do the individual stacks. I went over this a few times with different chip counts to make sure I was sure of myself. It is different doing it here and having to do it under some added pressure and time. Everyone wants to get it done now. I just need to learn and get it done. I just can't have everyone talking at me while I am trying to figure it out.

Now I am going to relax a bit and watch some live cash poker on Live@thebike and then will probably head to bed after reading some more of my "Bluff" magazine.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

I have been coming home very tired the past few days. It has been enjoyable working at the casino.

I arrived at the Casino at 9AM and started helping to set up the tables for the tournament. I then got into the Live cash game dealing before the tournaments started. Doing this is just a little bit different than tournaments since you need to take a rake for the casino. This didn't last very long since I was then moved to a different table to begin the morning tournament.

I felt real comfortable during the tournament dealing. My concerns right now are dealing with the all-ins that take place between 3 or more persons. I did end up with one situation today and was able to work through the all-ins and get the money set up for each person. It is really nice when the money ends up going to the appropriate person.

When that tournament was over the next tournament was started and again I was working the table. I eventually was moved to table 1 and worked it through the finish. What a day. I need more time in the box to work on my skills of all-in chips with different scenarios. I need to get comfortable with this and I think I am more hard on myself that our Poker Manager.

Our Manager put together an SnG game tonight for the dealers. It cost $25 to play and we had 18 players. It was a time for the dealers to have some play time instead of working the tables. We all had fun and giving each other a bad time. At least some of them. We ended up chopping the pot and I walked away with $70. Not bad for not playing a tournament in about a week. I was able to make the correct decisions tonight.

Tomorrow is a day off for me before I work the weekend. Need to get some rest.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

I was tired after working the first day and I did sleep alright last night. I got up this morning and was a little bit sore. I don't know why I was sore but I would guess I used some muscles that I hadn't used in awhile. Either way I was ready to go for my second day on the job.

I got to the casino and started helping to get the tables all set up for the day. We started seeing quite a few more people than yesterday and we did end up using the fifth table. Having this many people will more than likely extend the tournament just a little bit longer than the hour and a half when the next tournament was due to start.

We do go from one tournament right into the next tournament and in between those we have a live cash game going. It does get busy.

I know my learning curve is going to be a fast one and I want to do the best I can. Today I had 5 all ins at the same time for a different amount of chips. I ended up calling the floor over to help me figure it out and we actually made it through. I am wanting to get through this area and learn how to do the proper thing in getting the pots correct for the individuals that are all in.

After this was done I had one of the individuals offer his time to sit next to me to give me pointers on how I could make the dealing better on myself. I really appreciated him spending the time with me and it did help. I am hoping I will get to the point of making it second nature to myself and having fun at the same time. I feel I will get to the point of the game slowing down in my mind so I can keep it fun for the players and myself.

During the second tournament I saw some stuff happen with the players that disturbed me. The players were not happy that the tournament was taking so long and were taking it out on the dealer. This was not good and it wasn't fair that this was happening in a FreeRoll. This carried through even after the tournament. Things that were said by the individuals. It was bad enough that two of the players out of three did not pay tips to the dealers that spent their time dealing this game for them.

I must say I am tired again tonight. I have another day to go before I have a day off on Friday. I will be working on the weekend so we will see how it will go and how busy it may get. Got to keep learning.

I did get to play some live cash today and increased the BR another $5 for the time spent. I am not getting to play as much as before but will take any time I can get. I will be playing in a tournament tomorrow night. This will be the dealers playing against each other. Should be fun to let off some steam against each other.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Today was the first day back to work in over a year and a half. Getting up early this morning and getting dressed for work felt nice for a change. I didn't know what was in store for myself but it was feeling good to get ready to go to the Casino.

I usually get up and head off to the casino to play in the cash game and then play the tournaments. Today was different. I did get to sit down for about thirty minutes and play a few hands of the Live game. Walked away adding to my BR with $20.

Next came the tournaments. I helped set up the tables and get the room ready. I then sat at Table 4 and welcomed the players. All of the players were very helpful in making sure I was able to get all of my stuff done during the hand and even helped make sure the chip counts were correct when having to split them up. I can tell I will need to work on that part of my game. I will be working on my speed of the game and making sure I get the routine down.

I ended up at table 1 for the final table when the tables were broken up for the last two tables. I took it down until they decided to split the pot with the 5 remaining players.

Tournament two then began and I was seated at Table 1 for awhile and then when it got down to 2 tables I was then moved to Table 2 and finished out the tournament there till the final table was decided. Cleaned up the tables and put things away and was then sent home for the day.

For me it was a good day and will be ready to start up again tomorrow. Very friendly people and the dealers are willing to help the newbies. I feel like I am part of the working class again. Maybe I will start to sleep better at night after working at something during the day.

Saturday, October 08, 2011

It is just not fair I tell ya. I was minding my own business not bothering anyone and all of a sudden I was attacked by the Cold Bug.

Thursday night I was feeling tired. I mean real tired and I couldn't figure it out. I have been doing well all week and the weather was turning colder here in the Northwest. Around here the weather changes and people are snuffling and sneezing and pretty soon they are passing this to all of their friends. This year my wife and I are sick at the same time. So nice you say? Doing something together.

Thursday afternoon I got all of the paperwork signed for the new job and will finish it up on Monday. I am ready to go in or be called in. I will be working 5 days per week on this schedule for the next month. It will be fun and I am nervous to sit down at my first table to deal a game. I hope everyone goes easy on me.

Not much to go over since I have been in the house the last couple of days just hiding from everyone. Excited for Tuesday to come around and start the job.

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

I was texted this afternoon that as of tomorrow the license will be active and I can start with Islands Casino. I could have worked today if the license had been active since one of the dealers was ill.

Walking into the casino this morning the manager asked if the license was done. Instead I had to inform him it was still pending. Thanks for his effort in getting this done we have been called in to show up at 2PM and go through the orientation process. It is nice to get started working, if you can call this working, when you are able to play a game and get paid for the time spent.

I am not sure what this will do to my efforts in playing the live games and playing the tournaments. I will have to wait and see what this will do to my schedule. I am also watching for how this will effect my time in taking care of my parents. I need to be available to them as well and will work my schedule around them.

I am now at $152/$100 in my pursuit of building the bankroll. I was up a little bit more this evening but gave some of it back trying to play some questionable hands. Will need to remember that I am there earning and not so much of the social time. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Monday, October 03, 2011

This is the first day of the new month and my new strategy to play poker.

My goal for the first week is to play short stack and see if I can make it work. I would take $100 and divide it up and once I was down $25 I would not play again for the week. As long as I was up I would keep going. After this morning session I ended up down $7 from my starting stack of $25.

I started talking with one of the players after the live game and we talked about the amount of money we put on the table. You have about 6 people putting up $20 to $25 and a couple of people that play $40 to $100. I understand the variance of playing with a bigger stack. When I play $3-$6 I will always start with $100 since I will drop before I start to build the chip stack. We thought we might need to start with more on the table to counter the variance.

Tonight I went back for the tournament and played in the live game before the tournament started. I put $40 on the table and tried to work with that amount. On the next to last hand of the night I got Quad 4s. That moved me up +$10 for the day. So, my month of October total is $110. I am thinking I may need to put more on the table. I am also hoping my Quad 4s will hold through the evening and I will make some money as the high hand for the session. I will find out in the morning if it held. I will add that to my total as well for the month.

I have been asked to attend the staff meeting tomorrow. We are waiting for the license and then I can start working. I am rather excited to get started.

I am putting in some study time with Annie Dukes book. I started reading it a few weeks back and decided to start over and take some notes. I need to work on my tournament skills. First off I have to make proper decisions when I am at the table. Second I need to work on playing when I am in position. The third chapter is on raising and will work on that chapter tomorrow. Right now this is all Pre-flop. I will take what I have learned and incorporate this into my game.

Tonight it showed some improvement by almost making the final table. I haven't done that in a while so if I work on each section as it comes in the book by the end I hope I am back in the winners seat.

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Actually it is not the revolving door but the revolving sisters.
One of my sisters came into town on Wednesday and she departed with her family on Thursday afternoon. It was three hours later that my youngest sister came into town. The reason for the visits was to visit our Mom and Dad. It is nice to have them come into town and visit with them when they can.
Since I had the sisters here I decided not to play any poker on Thursday and Friday. I am anxious to get back to the tables and start up the new month. This next week I will work on the cash game and see if I can build that bankroll up where I would like it to be. I am only going to give myself a certain amount each week and try to build it up slowly. Playing in the $1-$6 Limit Spread game is better than playing in the bigger games right now. The only issue I have at the smaller limits is the fact people do not want to fold and will call all the way down and then you have to be worried about someone catching a card that will hurt you.
These two days off also gave me a chance to do some catchup on stuff I have been letting slide. I also went down to the Bus Transfer station here in town. I talked to one of the bus drivers and she gave me the Transit System Guide. In this guide is the complete listing of all of the bus routes in the Tri-City area. I did find one of the buses that goes by the Casino I play at. This is not a bad idea since I am using quite a bit of gas daily going to the casino and back. I could help myself by riding the bus and when I am done I can pick up the bus and come on home. The only down side to this is not being able to stop and visit my dad when I am done for the day. The cost of riding per month on the bus is $22 and the cost of gas is $200. Even if I ride the bus half of the month I can save gas.
Now that I am not taking the tax class anymore I will start studying more in the poker books. I am reading three books right now. One from Annie Duke, Jonathan Little and Elky Grospellier. They are all very good books and very much into the present. I need to soak in what they are trying to get across in their books.
Here we are into October and the weather is starting to turn a little bit colder. Have you noticed the sun going down early as well?
Let's hope everyone has a good week at the tables.......

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Why is it that the days keep going faster? So many things to do and so little time given to achieve all the things I need to do.

I have been playing quite a bit of poker as usual for the week. I have been doing a couple of hours per day of Live Cash and then will play two tournaments around the cash play. It does get hard at times to switch your play between the two different strategies. Right now though the Casino is offering Freerolls and adding $200 into the pot. Can't pass that opportunity up.

I am waiting for the FBI background check to be completed and then will start working at the casino. This is exciting as I haven't worked since January 2010. Working as a Floor Person and as a dealer will be fun. Can I handle the individuals that are over intoxicated? I hope so. I can keep my semi-retirement since I will only be working a parttime status. That is alright with me since I am still taking care of my parents.

I hope someday I will have the opportunity to travel around and play at different casinos with their cash games or tournaments. Just getting a small motorhome and getting out would be great.

Today I had the opportunity to try Sushi. A good friend helped me with the tasting and guided me towards the better sushi to try out first. I must say it was a success. I started with the California Roll and then tried the Shrimp and then moved on to the Salmon Sushi with seaweed. A different taste but was good. I will definitely be eating it again.

Today I have been thinking it was Friday. No, it is Thursday. I set up my computer to watch the live game at the Bike Casino and it was offline. What is the problem? The live event takes place on Tuesday and Friday. Great, so what is tomorrow? Another day to play poker.

Don't you get tired of listening to the same excuses for our stock market and what it is doing? Every day it is either up or down because of Europe and they can't decide what to do with their economy problems. Why don't we just take care of our issues and quit worrying about theirs. Ok, I need to leave politics out of this blog.

What else is going on? Full Tilt Poker and their ponzi scheme. What about regulation of online poker and that would solve that issue. It is amazing how many poker pros are leaving the US to play in other countries. You watch, something will be done about those as well.

Ok, I am off to bed and will be working on sleep. Have a good day.....

Saturday, September 24, 2011

I have been giving it some thoughts on what I am going to do during this next phase of working and playing in poker.

I am going to change my requirements for starting in the live games. What I am going to do is start Monday with $25 in the $1-$6 Limit Spread game. Now if it grows I will continue to play and build the bankroll. If for some reason I loose the $25 on Monday then I will be done for the week. I will then start the next Monday with $25 and work at it again. This will give me the incentive to play appropriately if I am wanting to play the entire week.

The Tournaments I am not going to make any changes in what I am playing at this time. If I am working on the floor then I will not be playing. This will cut my tournament play down for the week but that is fine.

I turned in the application yesterday and now I wait for 10 days for the response. Is it nail biting time? I don't feel so. I don't know what would be out there that would keep me from working in the casino.

Dealing with my parents issues are starting to ramp up a bit. Mom isn't doing well and making sure Dad stays inform. There is always something going on and we will make sure they all get taken care of.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

I have been very busy since Monday. I have been playing poker and trying to keep up with the Tax class. Today things changed.

I was told that I could join a Poker Dealer class that was going on at the local casino. The Poker Manager and I had talked about working there and being able to help the dealers and him do their jobs. I would be able to learn the dealing aspects as well as helping in the poker room at the sign up area as well as being responsible for the chips and money to the players and tables.

I was given the application and started attending the class on Tuesday and on Thursday we had the final meeting with questions and we now will put in some hours after we get our licenses.

I went down to the Police Department today and got finger printed and will pay for the license tomorrow. At that point there will be a 10 day waiting period and then I can start working in the poker room. This has moved very fast for me. I will be working parttime and that is fine with me. Having fun in a job with the game I enjoy will be great. All of the dealers are very nice and very helpful.

I have been playing the live cash game and have done well the last couple of days. Tournament play is a complete different story. Of course these are Freerolls and this brings out people that don't understand how to play and are learning. It is good to have new faces learning the game. I can see that you have to play the cash games to keep going. That is where the money is and you have to tap into that. I have been staying away from the big game though. Not ready yet to try my hand at them. Now I can watch them play and work at the same time.

Monday, September 19, 2011

It was a busy day today. I got myself out the door this morning and drove over to Island Casino to begin the day.

I sat down to play some live cash at $1-$6 limit spread. I must say I have been having a downtrend in my play and need to try and rectify whatever it is I am doing wrong. My reads are not working. Either that or I am trying too hard to win and am over compensating for it when I think I have the cards.

I played two tournaments today as well. Since tournament play was what got me started in poker I feel very comfortable sitting down and playing my strategy. I understand you are not going to win very many tournaments but getting to the final table is always the goal.

I did make the final table in one of the tournaments today and bubbled the other one. I do get myself close and know that I can get there if the cards go my way or I make the proper decisions.

I am constantly trying to make new and inexpensive meals for dinner time. I watch food videos and if there is something that catches my eye I will try to recreate it. Tonight was something that I have been thinking about and here is what I made.

What I did was take one of the Ramon Noodle packages and cooked the noodles as it says on the package. I did not put the beef broth in. I then cut up some Scallions, Celery and Sprouts. I put these in with the Noodles and let them warm up together. I put some Soy Sauce into the mix so they would soak up the Sauce. Next I took the chicken breast and cut it into pieces. I put them in flour and made sure they were well dusted and fried them. I bought a jar of Sweet and Sour Sauce and put some of it into a fry pan and turned the heat up to thin it out a little bit. When the chicken pieces were done I moved them into the Sauce and made sure they were coated nicely. That was our meal for the evening.

Always looking for something new and easy.

Coming up tomorrow the roof will be inspected by the city. It looks good and I am pleased with the outcome.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

I went out to my truck yesterday to head off to the Casino and the truck had a hard time unlocking with the key fob. I finally got into the truck and put the key into the ignition and turned the key and nothing happened. What is this?

The truck has a security thing and it has been a long time since I had this activated against myself. The truck has a fuel line shutdown. I end up waiting about 15 minutes and then I can get it started. This time it wouldn't start.

I called the GM dealership and they told me to try and jump start the truck and if that worked then it was the battery. He said the batteries are only supposed to last about 5 years. Ok, I will go with that.

I jumped started the truck and it ran for a little bit and would even restart when I turned it off. Waited about 30 minutes and tried it again and it wouldn't start. Ok, I will need to get a new battery. My truck is a 2004 and I got it in 2006 so I am sure it is the original battery.

Went to the parts store and purchased a battery and I couldn't believe the cost of this battery. Can you believe $133 for this thing. I guess if you work it out over 5 years or more it isn't that bad but right now it is atrocious. At least the truck works.

The new roof on the house is coming along well. Here is the picture of the after.

I feel pretty good about having this done. Now I will start working on sanding the trim and getting it painted. The big job will be the house but one thing at a time.

I will be working on my Tax class tomorrow and then back to the grind of poker starting on Monday.